Tales of a Dream Life: Rebirth is a fantastic game for all of us otaku, weebs, or general anime enthusiasts out there.
I have been lurking F95 for years and never typically contribute much in terms of conversation or review. After my most recent play-through of "Tales of a Dream Life: Rebirth," I decided to make the exception.
As is the case with many other ILLUSION games being released, I didn't go in with high expectations. From my own observations, most of these games either sink or swim during their first few months. Bearing that in mind, I decided to wait and see what kraguto's update frequency would be like. Upon Version 0.4's release, I decided that now might as well be as good a time as any to dive right in!
"Tales of a Dream Life: Rebirth" is essentially another Isekai-type of game. Of course it would have to be. This ambitious title looks to incorporate an incredibly large and diverse cast of anime heroines from some of the most popular titles of both past and recent times.
I'm sure others may be thinking the same thing as me. "With so many characters, where does that leave us with character depth and development?" As of Version 0.4, I feel that kraguto has done the characters justice in remaining true to their original personality. Of course, we're here on F95Zone, so we all know the direction many of these relationships will take us!
For better or for worse, I knew this game would cast itself apart from the others with its 4th wall breaking humor. The prologue jokes about Naruto and Sasuke were spot on and gave way for the girls involved to contest their feelings for the two characters. The 4th wall humor may not be for everyone but I did enjoy the humor involved in a number of the metaphors.
SETTING: 10/10
- As previously mentioned, Tales of a Dream Life: Rebirth sets itself up as an Isekai-type of game. You, the main character, along with 100+ women from various anime titles (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Boruto, Cowboy Bebop, Prison School, Kill la Kill, The Seven Deadly Sins, Attack on Titan, Future Diary, Highschool DxD, Queen's Blade, Re:Zero, DanMachi, Highschool of the Dead, Deathnote, Monster Musume, and so many more) are sent to an unknown world. In order to return to them to their original worlds, you must gather their "Love Essence" without their knowledge (TLDR: you two must make 'love' and not simply commit to the horizontal hula). I personally thought this was a great mechanic for involving a large cast and presented a good opportunity for you to get to know each character.
- This rating is given knowing what the game is and what I presume it is trying to accomplish.
CHARACTER DESIGN: 9/10
- While I love Koikatsu and the wide array of customization options presented by ILLUSION games, I can't give a solid 10/10 rating with the current 2D to 3D re-design of characters.
- 10/10 rating is reserved for the source content or crazy artists/animators who can nearly flawlessly replicate them into more... "satisfactory" scenes.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 10/10
- Tales of a Dream Life does a fantastic job of not only highlighting its heroine's original personality (on screen or perceived) but then bringing it to life in an ecchi/porn game.
- You are given a lot of one-on-one time with many of the heroines. I feel that experience is done well and inner-monologues help a lot with the direction you might travel.
ANIMATIONS: Yes/10
At the end of the day, this IS my first genuine review. Tales of a Dream Life is trying to accomplish what many its predecessors have not been capable of. I suggest you to give it a try, support the developer, and let's see where the road takes us, shall we? I have high hopes for its future and expect great things.